A major Taiwanese producer’s monthly pricing has continued to shape the Asian PVC market trend throughout 2018 while parity issues have also gained prominence amid the trade war between China and the US...

2018 has been a tough year for the PE markets in Asia as global trade wars and currency issues made most of the headlines of the year, affecting trade quite negatively. Import PE prices across the region started the year on a firm footing, but they have largely failed to maintain it since around February...

Turkish players have started to voice their opinion regarding the approaching imposition this week. Most participants think that the new regulation will probably result in lower raw material consumption on the part of shopping bag manufacturers, although the impact may not be felt in the near term.

“Most PE players preferred to focus on economic developments over the week, which overshadowed the recent news about the upcoming restriction on plastic bags. HDPE film consumption may fall by around 10% in a couple of years,” a buyer noted.

Some other players, meanwhile, argue that the decision will not cause a major slump in consumption as several manufacturers have probably been ready for the new situation and may not face a difficulty in adapting to it considering the fact that the draft legislation was already presented back in March 2017.

A packager stated, “The new regulation will be valid for bags with a thickness between 15 and 50 microns. We can manufacture thinner bags or larger ones in order to not to be affected by the new implementation. Moreover, some companies are operating recycling facilities, which would help them be hurt less by the restriction.”

“The HDPE film market might be affected by the situation in the months after the new regulation takes affect albeit partially. This is because converters must have already re-arranged their investment plans for the manufacturing of shopping bags accordingly over the last one and a half year,” another player opined.

Overall, players agree on one thing that polymer activities, including for PE, have already been facing pressure from unsatisfactory end product demand from domestic and export markets amid nearing holidays in Europe and Muslim countries as well as the volatile parity. The recent restriction will also take its toll on demand although its degree is yet to be seen.